Thousands of Bikes About to Rain Down on Manchester

Manchester's about to be beset by bicycles, like in the fake Morrissey video but with helmets and lycra and angry confrontations with van drivers now, thanks to Chinese bike-share giant Mobike.

The first wave of Mobike's assault on Manchester and Salford will see around 1,000 of its bikes appear in the city later this month, with more set to come if they don't all end up in rivers. On the morning of Thursday, June 29, residents should notice that the bike fairy has visited overnight, with the bikes ready for rent.

Mobike's model doesn't require docking stations or much in the way of infrastructure, as it uses an app to generate a code that unlocks each bike. So if you find one, you can ride one. Manchester will be the firm's 100th biked-up city around the world, so it's already quite the established thing.

Mobike's UK boss Steve Pyer said: "Our aim is to be responsible, sustainable and innovative. We’re confident that Manchester and Salford and their residents will immediately see the benefits of our services, and the city will become a showcase for the urban transformation that is possible when cycling usage rises, and city planning leverages smart data." [Manchester Evening News via Guardian]